Bronx teacher Jamala Roper asked her 5th-graders to reveal their emotions “to” their masks. "Every emotion you can think of was shared behind their masks," she says.

Former paraprofessional Sherwin Persaud made the transition to teacher last school year, finding his niche working with autistic children and those with behavioral issues in the early grades at P233 in Forest Hills, Queens.

The UFT Bronx borough office organized a back-to-school celebration on Aug. 26, partnering with the New York Pubic Library and several other community organizations to bring supplies and activities to more than 150 local parents and children.

About 300 local families braved 90-degree weather to attend a back-to-school supplies giveaway organized by the UFT and community partners on Aug. 12 at PS 19 on Staten Island.

You may not be an in-service employee anymore, but you haven’t left the UFT. Now it’s time to become a member of the union’s Retired Teachers Chapter (RTC) and participate in what’s considered the nation’s best retiree program for public school...

Members who have spent their professional lives under the academic calendar, even in retirement look at school openings as a pivot point. RTC Chapter Leader Tom Murphy looks at where we have been and, after our summer respite, where we are headed.

Barbara Zietchick began taking painting lessons and learning about printmaking while she was still a kindergarten teacher on Staten Island in the 1980s. Now, 37 years after her retirement, Zietchick’s lifetime commitment to “change and growth”...

Si Beagle trips make a seamless transition from in-person walking tours to virtual excursions for Retired Teachers Chapter members.



More than 30 years ago, Antoinette Messina, now retired, taught an immigrant boy to speak English. In a simple twist of fate, that boy, who grew up to be a physical therapist, today is teaching Messina to walk again.

As COVID-19 ravaged New York City and forced schools to shut down, Brian Nagy enjoyed a unique position. He was ready for remote.

The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center 20 years ago left an indelible mark on the educators and students who were in New York City on Sept. 11 — especially those in lower Manhattan.

Students learn how to combat climate change at eco-friendly, solar energy-powered school on Staten Island that has become a model for the Carbon Free and Healthy Schools campaign.

Theresa Aponte is a family child care provider in East New York, Brooklyn, and a “second mother” to children who attend her in-home day care center while their parents work.

UFT members and other frontline workers were showered with confetti on July 7 at a “Hometown Heroes” parade celebrating them for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic in one of the largest ticker-tape parades in New York City history

Five states with Republican governors that banned school districts from requiring masks are facing civil rights investigations opened Aug. 30 by the federal Education Department.

Any DOE employees who choose to continue receiving paper checks must receive them at their mailing address. The DOE will no longer send these checks to schools.

The COVID-19 pandemic slowed progress and widened learning gaps for students in grades 3-8 in math and reading during the 2020-2021 school year, according to national data released July 28 by the testing group NWEA.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew, greeting teachers today on the first day back to school for DOE employees, announced that the UFT had purchased 70 classroom carbon dioxide (CO2) monitors, giving UFT staffers the ability to independently check the...

Rather than just seeing them for what their scores say or what we unconsciously believe about them, we need to make sure that we as teachers are centering student voices and experiences in our curriculum and instruction.

Online forms of classroom assessments can be huge timesavers for educators by providing quick data, instantly compiling student answers and even reducing the amount of grading.

We are heading into another really tough school year. And once again, the mayor waited until the last minute to make major policy decisions regarding public schools.

This Brooklyn teacher uses immersive, engaging lessons and storytelling techniques to bring the past to life for his middle school students.

UFT Vice President Anne Goldman, the head of the Federation of Nurses/UFT, writes that as hospitalizations rise, we again find ourselves in a battle for adequate staffing. Staffing ratios are the foundation for safe patient care.

Sensory tools that have long helped special education students calm down and stay alert in the classroom are now helping general education students ease back into in-person learning.

Universal mask wearing is an essential part of keeping our school communities safe. New York City, thankfully, is doing its part.

It’s encouraging to remember how UFT members met the challenge of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks 20 years ago, as we continue to navigate the twists and turns of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s essential for parents of children with disabilities to understand the process of obtaining an Individualized Education Program that meets their child’s needs. That’s why Thomas Rosa, the chapter leader at PS 751, the Manhattan School for Career...

School social worker Maureen Eigenfeld has made art the cornerstone of her therapeutic work with students at the Bronx Writing Academy, a United Community School in Concourse Village.

The best way to manage stress is to identify the causes of your stress and determine what is within your control and what is not.

UFT-represented educators once again are eligible for reimbursement for some of their out-of-pocket classroom expenses through Teacher’s Choice.

Although public schools have resumed full in-person learning, parent-teacher conferences will be remote during the 2021–22 school year.

Thousands of New York City public school teachers work together in Integrated Co-Teaching classrooms, in which one special education teacher and one general education teacher work alongside each other. But what are the ingredients of a successful...

The theory behind integrated co-teaching classrooms, in which one special education teacher and one general education teacher work as partners, is simple: Children with disabilities are supported with specially designed instruction and services that...

Helping students rebound from the pandemic, both academically and emotionally, is a union priority as all students return in September for in-person learning.

Teachers and students anticipate a return to normal as the pandemic recedes and in-class education resumes. As devastating and disruptive as the pandemic was, we should not overlook the valuable lessons inherent in the disruption. Jobs, homes, health...

Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa is a man who not only speaks his mind, but also takes the necessary action to correct the problem. He definitely is the right man to be our next mayor because if this city has eight more years of Democratic...